———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Save the Manatee Club - action [at] savethemanatee [dot] org
Date: Jun 9, 2006 7:03 PM
Subject: Protest Manatee Downlisting!

Action By State Agency Puts Manatees In Great Jeopardy

We Need Your Immediate Help!

Despite a huge public outcry, on June 7, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) voted unanimously to downlist manatees from Endangered to Threatened status.

This action has little to do with how manatees are actually faring in the wild and everything to do with pressure from developers, the marine industries, and go-fast boaters. The FWC has projected that the manatee population could plummet to half its numbers within the foreseeable future. Now, boat speed zones can be rolled back, and marina and coastal development can move forward at an even faster pace. More and more boats will gain access to Florida’s already overcrowded and dangerous waterways, and there will be more pollution from stormwater runoff.

Although the FWC is vehemently denying that the manatee’s Threatened status will result in less protection, this is emphatically untrue, and a marine industry representative speaking at the FWC meeting was already asking for the boat speed zones to be reviewed for weakening protections.

Save the Manatee Club, along with 16 other organizations, has filed a legal petition asking the FWC to fix its imperiled species classification system.

What You Can Do:

-Please help protect manatees by sending a quick online letter to FWC’s executive director, Ken Haddad, the FWC commissioners, and Florida Governor Jeb Bush. The e-mail protests the manatee’s reclassification and asks the FWC to accept our legal petition to fix its imperiled species classification system. You can also get more background information on this issue.

Click here to send an online letter

-Please make a donation now. You will be helping us do whatever it takes to defend manatees from a self-serving politically driven process that not only devalues these beloved animals, but also puts all of Florida’s imperiled wildlife at greater risk.

Click here to donate now

-Please forward this e-mail to as many people as you can.

Thank you for your help on this important issue for manatees!

Sign up for our free Paddle Tales E-Newsletter: Go to www.savethemanatee.org/enews_signup.htm

Our postal address is:

500 N. Maitland Ave.
Maitland, Florida 32751
United States

About SMC
Save the Manatee Club is a nonprofit organization founded in 1981 by former Florida Governor Bob Graham and singer Jimmy Buffett. To learn more about manatees and our work, go to www.savethemanatee.org

Join Us!
Adopt-A-Manatee and join Save the Manatee Club. Your contribution will support our work to help protect endangered manatees and their habitat. For more information, go to www.savethemanatee.org/adoptpag.htm

Pass It Along
Help spread the word about manatees! Please forward this action alert to your family and friends. If you got this message from a friend, sign up to receive our Action Alerts at our Take Action page at www.savethemanatee.org/action.htm

Questions?
You can get updates on Action Alert issues by visiting the Take Action page of our web site. If you have additional questions, e-mail us at action [at] savethemanatee [dot] org